Saturday, January 21, 2006

Lately, I've been scouring MySpace for new music and have come up with some gems. The best thing about MySpace is that you can sample some of each band's music and decide very quickly whether or not they're any good. So, I want to share with you what I've come across:

The FliesTalk about beautiful music... These guys are out of Bristol, England and have worked with acts like Tricky, Goldfrapp, and Portishead, among others.

VeldtOut of Brighton, England (down on the southern coast), this band have lots of ethereal beauty to at least two of their dreamy songs. They sound like they draw influence from bands as disparate as A-Ha, Robyn Hitchcock, The Eurythmics and The Beatles. These guys actually just found me. Give 'em a listen.

We Are ScientistsThese guys are creating a crazy buzz all over. All I know is that they're from the US, as their profile isn't specific. Their album was just released a week ago Tuesday, and their single "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt" has gotten plenty of airplay on 96.5 The Buzz. They're actually american, but have done lots of touring in the UK already. Their sound is choc-a-block with retro-y goodness. Think Moving Units, Gang of Four, etc.

Cut CopyOkay, I didn't find out about this Australian electronic band via MySpace, but they are absolutely worth a mention. I saw them live when they opened for Franz Ferdinand, and they are just amazing.

StimulatorAnother band I didn't find out about from MySpace. This California based band opened for Duran Duran during part of their US tour, and I got to see them open for them when they played Kansas City. They are retro-y and put on a great show.

AstronautAn NY based band. Great stuff! I don't know what else to say about them. Also didn't find them on MySpace.

Femme FatalityBased in Missouri (St. Charles, I think), these guys are good to check out.

VederaVedera (formerly Veda) are amazing! They're local Kansas City talent that is already going places! It's sad they had to change their band name because of some losers from California called "Veada"...that's all I'm gonna say on that. I digress, this band is one of the best things to come out of Kansas City in a while. Kristin has a beautiful voice and their instrumentation is nothing short of spectacular. If you are into Cocteau Twins, Bjork, or other bands fronted by beautiful, strong female voices, you have to check out Vedera.

The Tender BoxThis CA based retro-alt-rock band isn't even signed yet, though they're getting airplay on California's Indie 103.1 FM and KROQ stations, not to mention their full tour schedule. Look out for them!

Clear StaticCalifornia based (are we seeing a patern forming here?) Clear Static are good, somewhat clean fun. They have a single out called Make-Up Sex which shows promise. These guys also opened for Duran Duran for part of their US tour this past Summer.

For the out of the loop...Their new album "Analogue" is released on Jan 30th in the UK and they're slated to do a signing the day of it's UK release, and play a gig at Shepard's Bush Empire in London on Feb 2nd.